Much video produced today, including but not limited to movies, shorts, cartoons, commercials, and television and cable programs, is at least partially generated using two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) computer graphics techniques. For example, modern animated movies are typically generated using various 3D computer graphics techniques as implemented by various 3D graphics applications to generate 3D representations or models of scenes, and then applying 3D rendering techniques to render two-dimensional (2D) representations of the 3D scenes. As another example, scenes in some video such as movies may be generated by filming live actor(s) using green- or blue-screen technology, and filling in the background and/or adding other content or effects using one or more 3D computer graphics techniques.
Generating a scene using computer graphics techniques may, for example, involve generating a background for the scene, generating one or more objects for the scene, combining the background and objects(s) into a representation or model of the scene, and applying rendering techniques to render a representation of the model of the scene as output. Each object in a scene may be generated according to an object model that includes but is not limited to an object frame or shape (e.g., a wire frame), surface texture(s), and color(s). Rendering of a scene may include applying global operations or effects to the scene such as illumination, reflection, shadows, and simulated effects such as rain, fire, smoke, dust, and fog, and may also include applying other techniques such as animation techniques for the object(s) in the scene. Rendering typically generates as output sequences of 2D video frames for the scenes, and the video frame sequences may be joined, merged, and edited as necessary to generate final video output, for example a movie.
In video production, for example in movie production that uses 2D or 3D techniques as described above, a director (or other entity) selects a viewpoint or perspective for each scene, and the final output is a video (e.g., a movie) that presents a 2D representation of the environments that were generated and used to render the video, with each frame of each scene shown from a pre-selected perspective. Thus, a consumer of the video (e.g., an animated movie) views the scenes in the movie from perspectives that were pre-selected by the director, and all consumers view the movie from the same perspectives.
While embodiments are described herein by way of example for several embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that embodiments are not limited to the embodiments or drawings described. It should be understood, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit embodiments to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope as defined by the appended claims. The headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word “may” is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words “include”, “including”, and “includes” mean including, but not limited to.